According to the palace note, the situation of Cixi and Guangxu is as follows: 50 Jin of pork (pig elbow), one pig, one sheep and two chickens and ducks; Two liters of new polished rice, one and a half liters of purple rice, three liters of glutinous rice, three kilograms of glutinous rice flour, fifteen kilograms of white flour, one kilogram of buckwheat flour, one kilogram of wheat flour, three-in-one pea flour (about four and a half) and five spoonfuls of sesame seeds (about two or two dollars); Two pounds of sugar, one hundred and twenty-five dollars, eight ounces of tin sugar and eight ounces of honey; Walnut kernel 42, pine kernel 22; Twenty-eight eggs, four ounces of medlar, eight ounces of dried dates ... 15 pounds of fresh vegetables. There are also some delicious foods such as bird's nest, shark's fin, sea cucumber and tremella.

Network mapping

How much does this case cost with such a large supply every day? I can't make textual research one by one, and it's hard to calculate, so I'd better look at the big picture and see the price of eggs. Li's Notes on the South Pavilion said that Emperor Guangxu ate four eggs for breakfast, and the price of the imperial dining hall was 34 taels of silver, with an average consumption of eight and a half taels of silver for each egg. At that time, the market price was about two pence for an egg, that is, one or two ounces of silver could buy 500 pieces.

In other words, the price of the chef's eggs is more than 4000 times the market price! It is no exaggeration to call it "cow-priced egg". It can be seen that the 28 eggs listed in the example cost more than 200 taels of silver.

Network mapping

The goods listed in this example are mostly for exclusive use, with high quality and high price, which are reasonable; The problem is that it is thousands of times higher than the market price, which is very abnormal. There are roughly two secrets: first, the Ministry of Internal Affairs doesn't care if it has money, and the royal family doesn't spend it. Besides, no matter how much money you spend on handling goods for the queen mother and the emperor, it is hard for others to gossip.

Secondly, every aspect of the palace's customary procurement has advantages, that is, taking kickbacks from it. Up and down the office, you make a fortune by reporting flowers.

Network mapping

According to the price of eggs, it is conservatively estimated that the daily food expenses of the Empress Dowager and the Emperor are not less than 12000 yuan. And the palace master and eunuch manager also eat a box. For example, Zhang Lande, the manager of the Jade Dragon Queen Mother, cooks 40 dishes per meal. During Guangxu period, there were 168 court officials and eunuchs. How much do they eat a day?